ANKARA/DAMASKS: The death toll from Monday’s devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria has risen to more than 12,000, as freezing weather has reduced the chances of more survivors before the golden 72 hours are up. Rescue teams and volunteers are working round the clock to locate people trapped under the rubble as survival rates without food or water drop drastically after the 72nd hour, which is fast approaching. Experts have warned that the 72-hour deadline for rescuing people trapped in the earthquake may be much shorter than anticipated, given the low temperatures in the quake-hit areas will increase the risk of hypothermia. Monday’s devastating earthquake in southern Turkey and northern Syria killed 9,057 people in Turkey and 3,480 in Syria, according to the latest figures, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to an official statement, search and rescue teams from more than 65 countries have arrived in Turkey’s earthquake zones to provide assistance in earthquake relief efforts.
An aircraft carrying an 83-member rescue team from China and 20 metric tons of disaster relief materials and equipment arrived in the southern Turkish city of Adana early Wednesday. In addition to materials and equipment for search and rescue, communications, and medical treatment, they also brought four rescue dogs with them.
Volunteers poured in from hard-hit southern Turkey. Pictures showed crowds of volunteers at terminals trying to help, while roads leading to affected areas lined roads lined with vehicles ready to offer supplies or aid.
“It was good that we arrived. When we arrived, the area was rubble everywhere,” said a volunteer, who identified himself as Kerem Okey, a businessman from the central Turkish city of Sivas, which is nearly Reached Elbistan, a city 200 km away.
Located in the southern Turksih province of Kahramanmaras, Elbistan was the epicenter of the 7.6-magnitude earthquake that rocked the region on Monday and the epicenter of the 7.7-magnitude one an hour earlier was close to the city of Pajarsik.
“As soon as we heard the news of the earthquake, we formed a team with some friends and came here as volunteers,” Okayay told Xinhua.
The team rescued two people from the debris as soon as they reached. “We were focusing on areas where we could hear people,” he said.
In the heavily damaged city center of Kahramanmaras province’s nameless capital, sniffer dogs equipped with tiny GPS-enabled harnesses were leading rescuers from site-to-site in the winter chill in search of survivors.
While rescue operations are underway in Turkey and Syria, more countries have committed to provide aid.
A Lebanese ministerial delegation led by Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib arrived in Damascus on Wednesday to discuss with Syrian officials more possible aid for earthquake-hit Syria.
On Wednesday, Tunisia sent its third plane, loaded with tons of emergency humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, blankets and clothing, to Syria. Two military planes from Tunisia were already dispatched to the two quake-hit countries on Tuesday, carrying medical teams, rescuers and urgent humanitarian aid.
Saudi Arabia on Wednesday launched a charity campaign to help earthquake victims in Syria and Turkey. According to local press, a total of 25 million Saudi riyals ($6.7 million) have been donated to the campaign so far.
Jordan announced on Wednesday that it would send aid convoys to earthquake-hit areas in Syria and Turkey over the next few days, while Sudan said its civil defense force was ready to send a special team to Turkey to help with rescue efforts.
The head of the Israeli aid delegation in Turkey, David Saranga, said on Wednesday that two Israeli rescue teams were searching for survivors in the country, while a field hospital with 15 Israeli aircraft and about 230 personnel was expected to be set up by Thursday or Friday. Is. , according to the Israeli military and foreign ministry.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged on Wednesday that there were problems with the response the day before the earthquake.
State-run TRT broadcaster reported that in Kahramanmaras province, Erdogan said operations have now returned to normal.
He said earthquake victims could temporarily stay in hotels in the Mediterranean tourist hub of Antalya and in the southern province of Mersin.
Turkey’s president announced that each earthquake victim family would receive 10,000 Turkish lira ($531), and new homes would be built in 10 provinces affected by the disaster within a year.
Erdogan said on Wednesday that it was impossible to be prepared for a disaster like Monday’s earthquake in the country, but vowed to do everything possible to save the lives of civilians.
“There are loopholes… It is impossible to prepare for a disaster of this magnitude,” he told reporters in Hatay, the worst-hit southern province.
“We will not leave any of our citizens unattended. We will manage the disaster by taking all necessary steps so that no one is harmed,” he said.